Obama Opens 6-Point Lead

Barack Obama has a 6-point lead over John McCain in a new poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. Obama leads 47% to 41%, twice the advantage he held a month ago. Despite the edge, however, the Journal notes that Obama shouldn't rest easy. He trails by 20 points among white men. And given the widespread dissatisfaction with the GOP—voters prefer a Democrat to win by 51% to 35%—his lead over McCain should arguably be bigger.

Even though all signs—an unpopular president, the war, gas prices, etc.—would suggest a big Democratic victory, Obama and McCain remain locked in "a very competitive race," said one Democratic pollster. The poll cites another sore spot for Obama among a potentially decisive segment: white suburban women; they'd vote for Hillary Clinton by 14 points but favor McCain over Obama by 6 points. The poll of 1,000 voters has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. (More Barack Obama stories.)